All posts for the month October, 2012

I am really happy to have got 1st place in the Relentless Contest up in Thurso this weekend on the UK Pro Surf Tour. We scored amazing waves, with Thurso East being probably one of the best waves I’ve ever surfed, and home to the nicest people I’ve ever met. We stayed in a great hotel, The Station, which has AMAZING all you can eat and whatever you want included breakfast, ideal for keeping you warm in the freezing cold and your energies high for the epic long surf sessions! The staff were so kind and friendly and made our stay feel so welcomed. The rooms were perfect, nice and spacious, and the radiators were forever blazing and the showers forever hot! It couldn’t have been a better set up. Despite the freezing cold weather, the waves were EPIC. It’s my idea of heaven with perfect right hand barrels and 6-8 foot of playful walls. Definitely in my top 10 surf spots without a doubt.
I want to give a HUGE thank you to my Mum for driving Lucy and I up there, 16 hours into what felt like the middle of nowhere, and also for always having hot tea and beans for us when we got out the water, you are the best Mum! Also a massive thanks to Calavera Swimwear for making it possible for me and always providing the best support, Firewire Surfboards for supplying me with awesome boards, and A3 Energy and Dragon sunglasses. Thurso town, thank you for having us, it was an amazing weekend and we will definitely be back soon. BIG thanks to the UK Pro Surf Tour and all of the sponsors including Scottish Power Renewables for organising a great event! Super stoked! Yeeeeewww xxx

Welcome to Scotland. This ain’t no Costa Rica, and today I experienced another level of surfing. We are up in Thurso for the UK Pro Surf Tour Relentless contest, and it’s freezing cold with crazy weather patterns haha. The surf conditions were really awful this afternoon, but Lucy and I decided to paddle out anyway for a practice surf before we compete tomorrow. Just as we paddled out we got hit by a hail squall with 45mph winds, and we were blinded by ice balls hitting us in our faces…It was insane haha. We then ended up being dragged into a current that was like trying to paddle up a river, and we ended up 500m down the coast within 20 minutes. After an hour and a half of paddling with Lucy closely being followed by a massive seal the whole time, we decided to give in. All I can say is that I desperately hope the conditions improve tomorrow, and thank the lord for the gloves, boots and hood that I threw in last minute!
(If you are wondering what we are doing lying on the ground in the photos, we are making snow angels!! Haha…It had to be done)

This weekend the British coastlines saw some incredible waves. I’ve never seen so many stoked status updates on facebook as I did after this Sunday!!! Haha. Everyone was going insane, and everywhere was pumping. Here’s a couple of pictures of the spots we managed to surf and some up high up shots of the stunning coastline. This certainly was Britain at it’s best :-). I’m not going to lie, there were definitely moments on Sunday when I was out of my depth haha. Some of the sets that we took on the head scared me and shook me up a bit, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!! It was all good preparation for the 2nd contest of the UK Pro Surf Tour up in Thurso this weekend. Mum and I are packing up the big red van and embarking on the 17 hour adventure tomorrow morning! Stay posted for photos!

I am so so happy to be down in Cornwall this weekend staying with my brother in Newquay. It’s my first time training and getting back in the water after a month of intense physiotherapy and resting my ribs. Today the swell is pretty small, so we went and surfed our favourite little bay just around from Jamie’s house on some longboards and fun boards. It’s such a beautiful day and it feels amazing to be surfing again. Tomorrow the swell is hitting, and the forecast is pumping! We are going to head out on a mission to find some reef breaks on the North coast and hopefully get some decent training in for my contest in Thurso next weekend.
Just because I love instagram….Here’s this mornings Instagram story 🙂

I am so excited to have been working with the awesome Calavera design team to come up with my own named after bikini. I chose the bold black and white version of The Glam line, firstly because it’s my favourite design of the Calaveras, and secondly because it reminds me of surfing on my home break Playa Hermosa with the contrasting black sand and heavy white water waves. Black and white are great colours together, and I feel they work really well with this design, showing off the complexity in how it is made, and making a bold statement towards female surfing with its unique function yet sexy look. I love it, and I can’t wait to see girls rocking this Calavera worldwide! It’s going to be available from the Calavera web shop,www.calaveraswimwear.com, from the beginning of November 🙂

To all my ladies! There’s only a couple of spaces left on our all girls surf road trip in Costa Rica on the 6-15th December 2012…We are so excited, it’s our favourite trip of the year and we want to get as many of you to come and join us as possible!On this epic 10 day road trip you will be treated to door to door service from the moment you touch down in San Jose airport. We start in Tamarindo with three days to get to know the gorgeous Guanacaste and it’s white sandy beaches, as well as the fun surfer town and it’s nightlife. A stunning drive down the coastal dirt road brings us to Nosara, our tranquil two night stop for surf, yoga and the best sunsets in Costa Rica. Our final destination is the very tip of this dramatic peninsular journey; the cosmopolitan surfer village of Santa Teresa, whose beach was recently voted one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world! You will be travelling with professional surf instructors and guides Nancy and myself, who will be giving you free surf tuition every day and will be showing you around the best of what Costa Rica has to offer. Don’t miss out :-). For any more details contact Nancy or I at info@ricasurf.com, and secure your spot on this awesome trip! Here’s a little taster video to get you all as stoked as we are! See you soon! You can also get all of the details from our website here,

Today I feel very proud of Costa Rica. Let’s hope that their lead in banning the import of shark fins and closing a legal loophole in the industry sets an example for countries worldwide. The illegal multi billion dollar industry is largely unmanaged, with most countries throughout the world acting as exporters, and many countries including mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand as well as The United States and the European Union being the consumer countries that feed this trade. Shark fin soup is viewed by many Asians as a rare delicacy, with Hong Kong handling around 50 percent of the global fin trade, supposedly importing about 10,000 tonnes annually for the past decade. It’s thought that 73 million sharks are killed every year. The fins are brutally cut off living sharks, regardless of age, size or species, and then they are left to die having been thrown back into the water. President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla states “Shark finning is a practice that Costa Rica does not accept and we want to send a clear signal about our opposition to these types of activities.” Chinchilla also announced an investment of up to $15 million in a new radar system that will allow authorities to better identify boats breaking the ban.
Now don’t get me wrong, as a surfer sharks scare me. It’s an ever present fear in my mind of what could happen and the dangers of surfing with sharks. But this industry is brutal. It’s incredibly important that we follow and build awareness of these environmental issues and highlight when decisions such as these are made. Lets hope that other countries throughout the world follow this lead that Costa Rica has set, and eventually we will be able to close all loopholes and shut down this savage industry.

I woke up this morning to tiny little waves out the front of my house in Brackelsham, and Dad and I suited up and got straight out there. It was so nice to surf with my Dad, it’s been ages since we’ve been out together so I am super stoked, love you! I’m still recovering from my rib injury so I had to take it easy but, boy, did it feel food to be back in the water. It’s an indescribable feeling that brings me so much happiness. Every time I get in the ocean I know there’s nothing else I want to do. I love surfing more than anything.